Politics

Donald Trump and his party are gearing up for a hard-fought midterm election. But the president loves to campaign and he's already started to raise lots of money and hold lots of big rallies for Republicans.

It's part of a larger playbook that his advisers think can keep the GOP in power this fall, and they think so far it's on track, despite the president's tendency to go off script on Twitter or during political speeches.

The nation's opioid epidemic has been attributed to many factors, including the over-prescription of painkillers and the availability of cheap synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

In Congress, lawmakers are trying to make it harder to buy fentanyl, in part by forcing the U.S. Postal Service to make it more difficult to send narcotics through the mail. But the measure has been languishing.

The Justice Department says it will give a second bipartisan briefing Thursday on classified information related to the Russia investigation after complaints from Democrats that they were being excluded from a similar Republicans-only meeting.

The second briefing, which includes the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" congressional leaders, is to be held at 2 p.m., following the previously scheduled noon briefing for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Ca., and House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.

President Trump is weighing new protections for domestic automakers, saying American auto workers have "waited long enough."

Trump met Wednesday with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and instructed him to consider an investigation into possible tariffs on imported vehicles and auto parts.

A similar investigation launched last year resulted in a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum, although in many cases those tariffs have been suspended while the U.S. negotiates with exporting countries.